Chandler man shoots, kills 2 suspected gang members

by Jim Walsh - Sept. 6, 2010 05:00 PMThe Arizona Republic

The intruder who punched out a Chandler man while stealing beer at a keg party picked the wrong victim.

The man, who had been attempting to defend his wife during the beer theft, had a permit to carry a concealed weapon. Fearing for his life and under attack, he pulled out a gun and fatally shot two men believed by police to be gang members early Sunday morning.

"People in Arizona carry guns," said Detective David Ramer, a Chandler police spokesman. "You better be careful about who you are picking on."

Ramer said police have concluded the shooter, who fears reprisals and whose name is not being released, acted in self-defense and have cleared him of any potential wrongdoing in the shooting deaths.

The names of the two men who were shot to death also have not been released by police.

The shootings occurred early Sunday morning in the 600 block of North Sunland Drive. A group of men showed up as uninvited guests at the keg party, paid a $2 admission fee, then became angry when the organizers started to shut the bash down, Ramer said.

"They thought they weren't getting their money's worth," he said.

The intruders were stealing the beer when they were confronted by a woman who had been attending the party, Ramer said.

After the men started yelling at the woman, her husband attempted to come to her defense and was punched to the ground.

"This guy was punched, he was attacked," Ramer said.

When one of the intruders threatened the man with a gun, he pulled out his own gun and shot the two men to death, Ramer said. Police said they have documents confirming that the men are gang members.

Ramer said the husband showed restraint during the incident and only fired when he was threatened with a gun.

The man involved in the shooting had passed a concealed-weapons course, Ramer said. Although he had a permit, the Arizona Legislature passed a bill earlier this year to allow residents to carry concealed weapons without one.

Chandler police have arrested seven other men and plan to recommend that they be charged not only with robbery but with murder because the slayings occurred during the commission of another crime, Ramer said.